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For contractors and freelancers, choosing the right accounting partner can make a big difference to their business. The ideal accountant should not only offer expertise on matters that affect contractors on a daily basis, such as tax legislation, IR35, and corporation tax laws, they should also remove much of the expense, time and hassle associated with financial management, offering their customers less tangible benefits like financial peace of mind and absolute confidence that their bottom line is healthy.

For this reason, if you’re a contractor or freelancer you should always seek to employ a specialist contractor accountant – only a company who deals with the freelance market will have a sufficient understanding of the tax issues involved in running a contracting business to offer you the best service and ensure that you’re operating in the most tax-efficient way. So here are some tips to help you choose the best possible contractor accountant for your business.

First and foremost they should offer a versatile, comprehensive service that goes beyond form-filling and tax returns: the best contractor accountants will really get to know their customers’ businesses and go the extra mile to meet their individual needs. For instance, most contractor accountancy packages include things like IR35 advice and completion of your annual self assessment return, but some will also assist with your company set up (if you’re just starting out), register you for PAYE and VAT, and provide personalised advice and support whenever you need it.

In addition to the personal services of an accountant, the best contractor accounting packages also include access to a suite of online software, allowing customers to save time and hassle relating to day-to-day tasks such as recording expenses and creating invoices. And it goes without saying that this entire package should be great value, with a monthly subscription cost that is fully explained and transparent from the moment you sign up to ensure you’re not hit with additional fees at the end of the year.

Above all, your accountant is there to help you to save time, cut down on hassle and stay in control of your finances. Through tax-saving advice and other money management tips they should also be able to save you money, and above all they should make you feel secure that your finances are in the hands of an expert; every independent professional understands the value of good financial management, and it is well worth investing in by selecting a specialist contractor accountant.

Helen is a writer with a particular interest in issues that impact contractors and freelancers. She’s always on the lookout for the best contractor accountant , she also enjoys evangelising about online accounting software and the benefits they can bring to the users. Helen lives in the UK.

If you’re a contractor, freelancer, or small business owner, feeling in control of your finances is hugely important. But busy independent professionals running their own successful businesses often have little time to devote to their finances, so they choose to hire the services of a personal accountant – a sound investment, since nothing offers greater peace of mind that the feeling that your finances are being handled by an expert.

A quick Google search for ‘contractor accountant’ reveals that there are a burgeoning number of companies out there offer accounting services aimed specifically at contractors and freelancers…so how do you find the one that’s right for your business, and what kind of service should a specialist contractor accountant be offering you?

Perhaps the most important asset to look for in a specialist contractor accountant is expertise: only a company tailored specifically towards contractors and freelancers will have a sufficient understanding of the tax issues that affect you to offer you the best service. Their knowledge of these issues – such as tax legislation, IR35, and corporation tax laws – should be second to none.

Secondly, you should look for a contractor accountant who offers a comprehensive range of services: the best packages on the market often include an online accounting program, which gives you access to an impressive array of software, plus the services of a specialist contractor accountant, all for one monthly subscription. The online software enables you to take quickly care of tasks such as recording expenses, viewing current assets and creating pay slips, and your accountant provides dedicated support and takes care of time-consuming tasks like completion of self-assessment, VAT, PAYE and corporation tax returns.

Most importantly, a good contractor accountant should offer a comprehensive yet versatile service – this means that they will take the time to understand the nature of your business and what you require from your accountant. So whether you’re an experienced contractor who needs an all-inclusive accountancy service, or you’re new to contracting and need help setting up a limited company, your accountant should be able to offer a service that’s exactly right for your business. And of course, this package should come with transparent, good value subscription fee as well as advice on how to reduce the amount of tax you’re currently paying.

In a nutshell, a good contractor accountant should enable you to pay less and get more: by choosing the right accounting partner you’ll be able to lessen your tax bill and at the same time access a range of services and software that will allow you to save time and money. For these reasons, and for true financial peace of mind, every contractor and freelancer should make sure they sign up for a service that specialises in contractor accounting.

Helen is a writer with a particular interest in issues that impact contractors and freelancers. She’s always on the lookout for the best contractor accountant , she also enjoys evangelising about online accounting software and the benefits they can bring to the users. Helen lives in the UK.

Over the past ten years the UK workplace has been steadily revolutionised by online technology: from virtual conferencing facilities to viral marketing tools, businesses of every size and in every sector are discovering the potential benefits of the internet – accountancy is certainly no exception.

Online accounting is the perfect way for business owners – especially those who are freelance or work on short-term contracts – to manage their finances. While established practices for balancing the books lead to dozens of excel spreadsheets and reams of receipts, online accounting programs allow users to quickly and easily keep track of their financial position.

The beauty of online accounting lies in its simplicity: many self-employed professionals have little experience managing their own accounts so they invest time and money into hiring the services of a professional accountant. Using online accounting software removes the complexity and hassle associated with financial management: there’s no software to be downloaded or installed, and the ever-growing number of websites dedicated to the provision of online accounting technology is leading to a better overall service offering and lower subscription costs.

The best online accounting programs include an impressive array of features: users can record their expenses, view their current assets, complete important documents such as P45s and tax returns, and even create pay slips and invoices. Some services can be used for free while others require a subscription fee based upon the level of service: many online accounting providers also include the services of a real accountant as part of their higher value packages, and most include comprehensive user support, both on and offline.

Accessibility is another key differentiator for online accounting versus traditional methods: provided they have an internet connection, users can log on wherever they want and view their financial information in real time – no need to wait for an accountant’s quarterly report to check on current cash flow. As a further benefit, all data is encrypted and stored securely online, rendering computer theft or malfunction far less of a threat when it comes to the safety of sensitive financial data. Using an online accountancy program can also lead to significant tax reductions, saving the both time and expense.

So, whether they wish to retain the services of an accountant or not, online accounting programs are ideal for busy professionals who want to remove the hassle from their day-to-day financial management. They provide a secure, understandable, accurate, and easily accessible way of maintaining financial control.

Gone are the days of paper journals, filing cabinets, folders, and post-it notes: With the help of online technology it is easier than ever before for business owners to connect with the information they need and organise their finances with ease.

Helen is a writer with a particular interest in issues that impact contractors and freelancers. Her background is accountancy and she enjoys evangelising about the benefits of online accounting software and the benefits they can bring to the users. Helen lives in the UK.

As one year ends and the next begins, interest regarding the future of the tax system is natural. In regards to property laws, many of the changes being considered by the Tax Working Group could prove detrimental to those who invest in real estate.

For some time the government has been proposing various modifications that will result in higher taxes being paid by property investors. It is unlikely that any of the proposals will result in immediate change but it is a good idea to become aware of what’s on the table.

As it gets closer to the time when a definite determination will be made – most likely soon after the beginning of the year – it is appropriate to consider how these changes may affect investors.

It is expected that the following revisions will be considered for inclusion in the new tax system:

* While individual tax rates will decrease, the rate of GST will increase in order to make up for the deficit. Corporate and trustee rates will become more closely aligned.

* The tax rates are expected to change drastically but tax laws will most likely remain unchanged in regards to assessments of capital gains and equity. The government’s stance is that it is disinterested in instituting sweeping changes at this time that could negatively impact a strengthening economy.

* There should be no surprises in the federal budget, either. Should any new tax rules be implemented, such as a risk-free rate of return investment property tax which has been bandied about, the legislative process is such that it will take some time before they are enacted.

* Throughout the year of 2010, additional options in the tax rules are likely to be debated and subject to public review. The Tax Working Group will probably propose several options rather than strongly back only one. This will allow the government to select the most favourable to stand behind and bring to public review.

* Tax changes regarding property investments will most likely be considered at some time in the upcoming year during the budgeting process. It would not come as a surprise if the deduction for building appreciation is denied. Whether or not it would apply retroactively is in question.

The tax program currently under review in Australia will probably influence the decisions for future tax structures in New Zealand. Depending on the results of the Henry review, our tax laws may or may not change as expected.

Paul Easton works in marketing for Mathew Gilligan – an accountant and partner at Gilligan Rowe & Associates Ltd (GRA). GRA is a Chartered accountant firm specialising in property in New Zealand.

Are your children going to be surprised after your passing by what they do or do not inherit? Perhaps it is time to sit down and have an honest discussion about the terms of your will.

This issue comes to light on the heels of a case that was tried in court last fall. The case involved a deceased man whose daughters were not notified of his death, nor did they inherit any part of his estate, per his will. There was only a public notification to creditors, of which there were none that came forth. The daughters tried to make a claim two years after their father died but the courts denied the motion. They were left with nothing, just as the father had wished.

This ruling is in direct opposition to historic cases where the courts were more sympathetic for the cause of the surviving children. Clearly there is no law stating that parents must leave an inheritance to their children. Luckily there were no creditors to lay claim to the estate and the man’s surviving partner received the inheritance.

How This Affects the Property Investor

In the previously mentioned case, the father drew up a will that designated the public trust as executors. For the investor, this is not a good plan.

It is advisable instead to place assets in a company trust, not one under your personal name. This type of legal structure protects any assets – including real estate – from creditors, the Official Assignee, and duties paid on gifts. This also allows the trust to be passed directly into another trust specifically established for surviving children upon the parent’s death.

Another good idea is to draw up a Memorandum of Wishes and ensure that it is kept updated. This will inform the trustees of exactly how your assets should be handled after your death. Along with the Memorandum of Wishes, a will should also be filed. Your will designates the disposition of personal assets outside the company trust.

Why go to all this trouble? For one thing, family relationships tend to change over time. Not all family members get along with each other throughout their lives. Having the proper legal documents in place before you die means that your assets will go where you want them to go and be safe from claim. It also relieves any possible family disputes over an inheritance someone feels entitled to.

As a property investor, it is important to think of all possible scenarios when planning an investment strategy. Take care of the necessary paperwork now, before it is too late. This is an action you won’t regret.

Paul Easton works in marketing for Mathew Gilligan – an accountant and partner at Gilligan Rowe & Associates Ltd (GRA). GRA is a Chartered accountant firm specialising in property in New Zealand.

When financial woes hit a married couple the unfortunate outcome is often a divorce. Of course, this means the division of assets, along with the usual amount of bickering over that division. But if those assets are in a trust, what happens?

The Creation of the Trust

For the property investor or any other type of investor, a trust is always recommended for placing assets. Do take some care, however, before creating the trust. An individual’s rights to the assets are affected by this legal structure, so it is a good idea to consult a lawyer.

Property Relationship Agreement

In the case of a married couple, the two parties should also enter into a Property Relationship Agreement (PRA). This component is essential for laying out exactly what happens to the property in the future, particularly in the case of separation. The PRA prevents the parties from having to go to court and argue the disposition of assets.

The PRA covers such matters as who owns what assets before they are placed in the trust. Additionally, the disposition of those assets upon separation is laid out in exact terms, such as provisions for sale of property and using the assets to repay outstanding loans.

The agreement is implemented by lawyers if the necessity arises. Any amounts outstanding after payment of liabilities and proceeds from sale are divided between the parties, who each now have their own private trusts.

Two Trusts Are Better Than One

Another option for the married couple is to create two individual trusts right away, one for each spouse. This allows each spouse to transfer property that was owned before the marriage into a private trust, such as family heirlooms or inherited property.

Often, the couple will each get half the value of the family home added to their private assets. The trust should also include a PRA that specifies disposition of the home upon separation.

Any additions to the trust do not have to have the spouse’s approval, provided that they are not named co-trustee. Property that is inherited during the marriage can be added to the recipient’s private trust. As well, each spouse can designate the assets they bequeath to beneficiaries – a great option for couples who have children outside of the current relationship.

Paul Easton works in marketing for Mathew Gilligan – an accountant and partner at Gilligan Rowe & Associates Ltd (GRA). GRA is a Chartered accountant firm specialising in property in New Zealand. Search Engine Optimisation by Digitalawol.com

As the end of the year rapidly approaches, the Tax Working Group is hard at work reviewing the current tax system of New Zealand. The Tax Working Group is a consortium of professionals in academics, government, and industry whose expertise shapes the proposals presented to the government.

The current proposals are expected to produce greater equity in the system and broaden the tax base to be used as funding for anticipated decreases in the rate for personal, corporate, and trust taxes. Property investors will be affected by proposed changes to the capital gains and land taxes as well as the addition of a risk-free rate of return income tax.

What’s Going to Happen?

Shortly after the beginning of the new year, the public can expect to be notified of the results of the review. What will the upshot of these proposals be?

More than likely major reform is coming. When it happens is questionable. Public and committee reviews will probably defer the chances changes are enacted any time soon.

Corporate and trust top marginal taxation rates will come into alignment (the 30-30-30 option) with Australia and be assessed at the same rate. Regular corporate and trust marginal taxation rates will also match those of Australia. Currently the Australian rate is set at 27% but that is expected to decrease to 25%. Clearly these reforms are meant as an economic boost.

How Will These Reforms be Funded?

Funding to make up for the shortfall in trust and corporate tax returns will obviously have to come from somewhere. Right now it appears as if the decreases will be financed through:

* The GST increasing to 15%. This is an easy and quick fix. * Imposition of ‘rifle taxes’ that are assessed on capital gains from rental and commercial properties. In addition, existing rules will be more rigorously enforced. * Speculative investors held to tax liabilities. Presumably this will reduce the risk of creating a market bubble based on speculative real estate investments. * Government spending will be reduced in order to effect cost reduction and economise current holdings. This is in direct opposition to a Labour type of government model.

Imposing a stamp duty on land transactions might be quite beneficial to the new tax program. Its progressive nature is both fair and equitable as well as being a simple piece of legislation that is easy to enforce. This would also reduce the practice of speculation by taxing the investor’s margin.

Only time will tell exactly what the Tax Working Group will propose to the government in the upcoming year but do expect change on the horizon.

Paul Easton works in marketing for Mathew Gilligan – an accountant and partner at Gilligan Rowe & Associates Ltd (GRA). GRA is a Chartered accountant firm specialising in property in New Zealand.

Do you have debit cards, Credit Cards or Prepaid Visa Cards? I think most poeple have one or more. Yes, I have two more. But bad luckly, I get one of mu card have bad credit history. What can i do future, It’s a large problem. But i have idea how to do.

If you have the some as me, do worry i will tell you! We can go to the NetSpend, Which is one of the leading providers of reloadable prepaid debit cards and prepaid debit card services in the United States. And the cards can make  purchases, pay bills, secure reservations, and shop online without the need for a bank account or credit history. So, if we use their cards, Such as prepaid visa. We needn’t to warry about the bad credit history. There is no history for you!

Sonds great, Yes! NetSpend’s mission is to empower consumers with the convenience, security and freedom to be self-banked. NetSpend targets who live in United States and lack or choose not to have a traditional bank account to become full participants in mainstream economic life.

If you are don’t have a bank account, or cannot get one, or rely heavily on having your money instantly , you may cosider the  NetSpend’s prepaid visa and others services.

The advantages of outsourcing can be significant for small business owners and for the business. Reviewing the history of outsourcing as a business strategy demonstrates that the need for specialized and low cost labor was a key driver. Small businesses are often constrained by the need to keep costs down and to find competent labor. Many small business owners cannot afford, and do not need, a large number of employees. Yet, small businesses need to grow to survive.

How do you grow your business without increasing your staff? How do you stay focused on your business vision and strategic plan? Managing your every-day business activities can be hard work; adding growth objectives to that day-to-day effort can be overwhelming. Hiring outsourced services can help you meet your business plan.

What is outsourcing? It is hiring outside resources to do what you can’t, or don’t want to, do within the business. Large scale outsourcing is becoming more common on a global basis. Businesses are trying to narrow in on their core competencies and to contract out services that don’t align with their primary business. For example, a number of North American phone companies outsource call center work to India. Law firms outsource legal research to countries with lower labor costs. On a small business scale, outsourcing is about hiring services that a small business owner can’t handle internally.

Outsourcing specialized services can help your business contain and minimize payroll costs, reduce the need to recruit more staff and to manage more staff, and improve your utilization of resources (people, equipment, time and money). There are excellent benefits and paybacks to contracting out services, particularly highly specialized services.

There are many functional services that can be outsourced. Here is a short list of some of the most common ones: human resources support – including recruiting, training, salary surveys, writing of job descriptions, writing of employee policies, payroll and benefits; accounting support – such as accounts receivable, accounts payable, bookkeeping, financial statements; marketing – such as specific direct marketing programs, new product launches, promotional brochures, and email campaigns; information technology support – such as vacation relief, backing up remotely, hardware maintenance, and software analysis; transportation – such as warehousing, inventory, shipping; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; sales – such as independent sales agents or distributors; management consultants; and more.

Transition from outsourcing services to hiring a full time person when the cost of outsourcing is significantly more than the cost of hiring staff; but make sure that you recognize that outsourced services are often specialized whereas an employee may be more of a generalist. For example, if your accounting outsourcing is costing you 20 percent more than an employee would, hire an employee who can do the accounting (receivables, payables, costing, and financials) and help in the administration of the office.

There are many good reasons to outsource but the best reason is that it allows you to focus on what you do best, and to focus on what’s harder to outsource (your passion for the business). Consider your strengths and weaknesses and focus your efforts on the higher impact and higher profit endeavor. Your decision to outsource needs to be balanced with what you gain or lose by outsourcing.

As a small business owner or manager, your goal is to grow your business. The advantages of outsourcing will help you achieve that goal by saving time and money, focusing on your strengths and weaknesses and achieving your plan. Find more proven strategies and resources from the More For Small Business site to better manage your business.

Each day, we all pass through life, hearing things that we’re not completely sure of. Honestly, with all of the information that we are expected to retain; it would be easy to see how some details start leaking back out. When you’ve come to this point in your life, you may benefit from hiring a certified public accountant.

While they serve many functions, the primary role of a certified public accountant is to track and control where the money goes. The Internal Revenue Service requires us to account for every single penny we make and those that we give away. It can be a daunting task, following the paper trail.

Certified public accountants have been taking care of financial matters for the small business sector for a very long time. It was the business owners who needed their personal wealth looked after, as well, who really made a difference in the way things are done these days.

As wealth grew over time, personal wealth separate from business owners, the need became apparent for the public sector, not just the private one. The Internal Revenue Service goes after both business and personal individuals, alike.

Certified public accountants review documents for companies and individuals. They look for errors in addition, subtraction and much more. They sift through files and find receipts. They make sure that every cent that has been spent or earned is accounted for.

CPA’s do so many things with your finances; it’s not as broad of a subject as some may think. CPA’s work with tax records, billing, and much more. They will help get your past records taken care of as well as getting all of your current dealings in order.

Your certified public accountant will see to it that you turn in correct documentation in the future to the government and will keep you from any future harm or issues with tax returns, payments and deferrals. If you have any questions regarding tax laws and payments, as well as state and federal mandates, your CPA is well versed in this information and will be a valuable resource to you.

Not only do large corporations need the services of certified public accountants, many people who find themselves in possession of sudden riches also seek their assistance. When you’re accustomed to having very little money and suddenly, money no longer becomes an issue, it is wise to have someone who can not only advise you on financial decisions, but also assist you in keeping track of your wealth.

People who have a lot of money in stocks, bonds and other investments find it very useful to have a certified public accountant in their corner. Keeping an eye on your financial decisions, your accountant can work alongside or completely solo, ensuring that your choices are going to be lucrative.

When you’ve got investments in the market or elsewhere, your CPA will work side by side with your broker and handle all of the important issues. You’ll sleep better knowing that you don’t have anything to hide or anything to fear when it comes to the IRS.

If you need a CPA, check out local accountants online. Find one who has experience working with financial situations that are much like yours. It’s also good to find a CPA who is close in proximity to your home or will be happy to come to you when you need him.